The three girls were out in the castle garden, picking flowers for the king and queen. It was a warm and sunny day with not one cloud in the sky. The winds were light and peaceful, adding to the beauty of the day.
All of a sudden they heard a watch tower soldier call out “The army is returning! The army is returning!”
The three women ran as fast as they could towards the main gates. They stopped at the entrance to the kingdom and saw the soldiers march in. They were wet, dirty, tried and most of the wounded. Marc-Andre soon made an appearance out of the flood of soldiers walking into the kingdom.
“MARC-ANDRE!” The three yelled, as they all ran to hug him tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re back.” Ashley said crying tears of joy.
“Me too.” Mary-Kate said. “Where’s Brett?” she asked as she looked behind him.
“Hey bright-eyes!” Brett said as he finally set foot in the kingdom.
“BRETT!” Mary-Kate yelled as she ran into his arms. She gave him the biggest kiss and hugged him very tightly. “I missed you too.” Brett said.
Annick and Marc-Andre were kissing eachother tenderly by this time.
“Is it me or is it getting warmer out here?” Mary-Kate said.
“I almost forgot!” Marc-Andre said. “Look who we found, Ashley.”
Ashley had a puzzled look on her face. “Who?”
A man, no older than seventeen walked over to the group. He was well built and about the same height as Brett was. “Hello Ashley.” He said.
“Derrick?” Ashley asked, not believing who was standing in front of her.
“I’m back.” He said as she hugged him tightly.
“But, when you left you never came back. I thought you didn’t love me anymore.” Ashley said.
“I never stopped loving you.” Derrick said. “I was captured by the Tiberians and was put into a slave labour camp. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of escaping and seeing you again.”
“I missed you so much, Derrick.” Ashley said before giving him a kiss.
When they were done, Marc-Andre put his arm around Derrick’s shoulder. “One thing though my friend.” Marc-Andre said.
“What’s that?” Derrick asked with curiosity.
“Purposely break her heart, and I’ll break your neck.” Marc-Andre said with a smile.
“Don’t worry. I’ll never let that happen.” Derrick said.
“I like this kid. He’s alright.” Marc-Andre said proudly.
“Hey everybody.” Brett said to the group. “Tomorrow, we’re going home.”
Everyone cheered, except for Annick, whose gaze fell to the ground.
“What’s wrong my love?” Marc-Andre asked her.
“Nothing…” Annick said.
“OH MY GOD! WE FORGOT!” Brett yelled.
“How could we forget??” Marc-Andre yelled.
“We better shut up and just do it.” Brett said. Marc-Andre agreed with him.
Both men got down on one knee infront of their loves. They looked into their eyes and asked in unison.
“Mary-Kate,” Brett said.
“Annick,” Marc-Andre said.
“Will you marry me?” They both asked in unison as they both put rings on the girls’ fingers.
Mary-Kate and Annick looked at eachother. They smiled at each other mischievously.
“This can’t be good.” Brett said to Marc-Andre.
“We’re doomed.” Marc-Andre agreed.
“Well it did take you a while to remember.” Annick said.
“If you forgot something like proposing to us, what about things like birthdays and anniversaries?” Mary-Kate played along.
“I don’t know if we could accept this kind of forgetfulness in men.” Annick said.
“So is that a no?” Marc-Andre asked.
“No.” Annick and Mary-Kate said in unison.
“Is that a no saying ‘no we aren’t marrying you’ or a no saying no to the ‘no’ as a reply?” Brett said.
“I have no idea what you just said so we’ll put it into words you can understand.” Mary-Kate said.
Brett braced for the impact of rejection.
“Yes, I will marry you.” Mary-Kate said to Brett.
“And I will marry you.” Annick said to Marc-Andre.
Both men got up and kissed their new brides-to-be. Ashley squeeled and ran to hug Annick and Mary-Kate.
The wedding was on the first day of spring and was the finest in all the lands. Almost everyone from both kingdoms attended the event. Annick and Mary-Kate had elegant dresses and Marc-Andre and Brett were dressed in the finest attire. Ashley watched on in Derrick’s arms. Derrick had asked Ashley to marry him the week before and their wedding was scheduled for the summer.
In the days that followed, Marc-Andre and Annick led the kingdom in a time of peace and love. As I remember it, those were golden years filled with warmth that was felt throughout the lands. They lived happily ever after.
The End.
